This invention relates in general to electronic devices and in particular to such devices arranged as an automatic starting system for vehicles.
Automatic starting systems for vehicles represent an attempt by man to simplify a manual activity by the use of electronics. The object quite simply is to enable an individual to start a vehicle either by clock means at a preselected time of day and/or from a remote location at any desired time by the use of remote control transmitter-receiver means. The following listed patents disclose certain circuit arrangements which have been conceived in an attempt to provide improvements to automatic starting systems.
______________________________________ Patent No. Patentee ______________________________________ 2,698,391 Braden et al. 2,748,759 Schiffer 2,836,732 Newlin 2,975,296 Dominguez-Rego 3,696,333 Mott ______________________________________
Braden et al. discloses an engine-control system whereby an engine may be started and stopped automatically under the control of a clock mechanism. Also provided are means to start and stop the engine under certain temperature conditions.
Schiffer discloses an automatic starting device for an internal combustion engine which incorporates a timing mechanism for starting a car at a speed somewhat above idling speed and reducing the speed to the correct idling speed when the proper vehicle temperature is reached.
Newlin discloses an automatic car starter for automatically starting a motor vehicle at a predetermined time and energizing the motor vehicle heater at the predetermined time, whereby the automobile engine and the interior of the automobile will have had sufficient time to warm up when the operator enters the vehicle.
Dominguez-Rego discloses a clock-control circuit for energizing the ignition circuit of a vehicle, the starter and the heater and for controlling the throttle opening during the starting and warm-up periods. The circuit deenergizes the starter once the engine has started and restarts the engine if it stalls while warming up or idling.
Mott discloses an automatic automobile starter which permits utilization of either a clock-switching mechanism or a radio remote control switching system to supply current to the starter motor. Current is supplied to the ignition coil through an oil pressure switch to insure that the engine will not start unless there is sufficient oil pressure.
None of these disclosed devices or systems disclose means by which the gas pedal may be pumped prior to current being coupled to the starter which is the vehicle manufacturer's recommended way to start most vehicles which have a cold engine. In addition, none of the disclosed devices or systems include sufficient safety features to virtually eliminate any type of damage to the vehicle or injury to others. For example, if an overspeed condition would result, such as by a child playing with the gas pedal of the started and still-unattended vehicle, there are no disclosed means to turn off the engine automatically. Similarly, if a child would attempt to raise the hood when the vehicle is being, or has already been, remotely started, then without some type of interlock switch to turn off the engine, the child could be injured. Furthermore, none of the disclosed devices or systems provide means for remote-control turn-off of the vehicle once it has been started.
While the foregoing deficiencies or drawbacks to the listed prior references were overcome by my U.S. Pat. No. 4,200,080, which issued Apr. 29, 1980, improvements are still possible as evidenced by the present invention. My prior patent would likely not be considered a total solid-state system, and the mere exchanges of parts would likely not result in the creation of an invention. However, the present invention has gone far beyond the mere exchanging of parts. Although parts have been replaced and the new design is predominantly solid state, key changes have been made to the starting procedure of the vehicle engine depending upon the time periods that the engine has been running and/or not running, rather than relying on the engine temperature as was the approach in U.S. Pat. No. 4,200,080. While this running or not-running time period approach is clearly a departure from and an improvement over my prior patent, it is also novel an unobvious over any of the prior listed references.